Assembling mechanism of typographical composing machines



Jan. 19, 1937. E. GAYTER ET AL A 2,068,288

ASSEMBLING MECHANISM OF TYPOGRAPHICAL COMPOSING MACHINES Filed Oct. :25, 1935 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Hal.

In gen 50 12s.

Jan. 19, 21937. E. GAYTER ET AL 2,058,288

ASSEMBLING MECHANISM OF TYPOGRAPI-HCAL GOMPOSING MACHINES Filed Oct. 23, 1955 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Jan. 19, 1937. E. GAYTER ET AL 2,068,288

ASSEMBLING MECHANISM OF TYPOGRAPHICAL COMPOSING MACHINES Filed Oct. 25, 1935 4 sheets sh eet s Q r I nwnzarr Br Q. J, W W, M J

Jan. 19, 1937. E. GAYTER ET AL ASSEMBLING MECHANISM OF TYPOGRAPHICAL COMPOSING MACHINES Filed 001;. 23, 1935 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Invniqm,

Patented Jan. 19, 1937 PATENT OFFICE ASSEMBLKNG MECHANISM OF TYPOGRAPH- ICAL COMPOSENG MACHINES Application ()ctober 23, 1935, Serial No. 46,256 in Great Britain October 25, 1934 ll) Claims.

This invention relates to the assembling mechanism= of typographical composing machines such as those known commercially under the trade-mark Linotype In machines of this kind comprising a plurality of superposed magazines, from. a plurality of which matrices can be released for assemblage in one and the same line, it has been proposed to provide an assembler entrance section and escapement strikers conjointly adjustable in front of the discharge ends of the magazines. Such arrangement possesses certain advantages as compared with a plurality of fixed assembler entrance sections and relatively fixed escapement strikers, some of which must either pass through atleast one of the assembler sections or pass in front of the discharge ends of the magazines, thereby imposing an undesirable limit on the body size of the matrices which can be used owing to the fact that the matrices must pass between the es capement strikers.

However, with constructions employing an adjustable assembler entrance section and escapement strikers carried thereby and adjustable therewith, the adjustment has been effected by movement of the adjustable parts in a direction parallel with the plane of the discharge,

the strikerson the respective escapements in the different positions of adjustment.

' The object of the present invention is to provide a simplified construction whereby the change of composition from one magazine to another can be effected more quickly and with less effort than heretofore, and wherein the adjustment does not substantially affect the extent of movement.

The invention is hereinafter described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:--

Figure 1 is a front elevation of the right hand side of one constructional form of assembler entrance according to the invention, with portions 5 of the front plates broken away;

Figure 2 is a side elevation as viewed from the right of Figure 1 of the assembler entrance showing the lower ends of the magazines with which it co-operates;

Figure 3 is a side elevation similar to Figure 2, but showing the parts in a different operative position;

Figure 4 is a diagrammatic side elevation, partly in section, showing an alternative form 15' of assembler entrance according to the invention, and

Figure 5 is a view similar to Figure l, of the constructional form of assembler entrance rep resented in that figure, but with a modification 0 I, 2, 3, 4, the discharge ends of which lie in an inclined plane, and which are adjustable columnwise to bring different pairs of magazines into operative relationship with the assembler entrance, the latter being adjustable for the assembling of matrices from either of the two magazines for the time being in operative position.

Referring first to the constructional form of the invention represented in Figures 1, 2 and 3, the assembler entrance is supported in brackets 35 5 connected to the main frame of the machine, only one of which brackets is shown in the drawings, and'comprises a relatively fixed section 6 and the pivotally adjustable section l which can be adjusted either into direct opera- 40 tive relationship withthe lower one of the two operative magazines, or into operative relationship with the upper one of the said magazines through an upper entrance section 8 located immediately below the upper magazine.

The relatively fixed entrance section by which matrices are conducted from the adjustable section to the assembler. belt 9 comprises aback plate, indicated by the reference numeral 6 herein also'used to designate the said fixed sec- 50 tion as a whole, stationary guides or partition plates [0 forming channelsfor the guidance of the matrices'towardsthe assembler belt 9, and a cover plate H pivoted on a shaft I2- extending between the supporting brackets 5.

The adjustable assembler entrance according to this constructional form of the invention consists of a platform or bar 1' pivotally mounted on a shaft I3 fixed adjacent to the upper end of the fixed entrance section 5, side plates I4, a front plate l and a series of partitions I5 secured to the bar I, as by a rod I6 passing through perforations in lugs I! of the partitions extending through slots in the bar. Where it is necessary herein to refer to the adjustable assembler entrance as a whole, it is designated by the reference numeral I.

The bar I also carries at its rear a bank of escapement strikers I8 which are slidably supported thereon, for example by being held in slots formed in rearward extensions in the bar. The lower ends of the strikers I8 are in close proximity to the axis of the shaft I3, and lie immediately above a set of pivoted striker levers I9 arranged to be actuated by reeds 23 controlled from the keyboard of the machine in known manner.

The upper entrance section 8 is formed with a backplate to which that numeral is specifically applied, side plates 2!, partitions 22 secured to the backplate 8 in a manner similar to that hereinbefore described in connection with the partitions I5, by means of perforated lugs 23 and a rod 24, and a pivoted cover plate 25. Brackets 26 secured to or formed integral with the side plates 2| are supported on studs 21 on the supporting brackets 5, and the section is held in operative position against the action of a spring 28 by a spring plunger 23 and engaging the respective supporting bracket 5. The spring 28 is secured at its respectively opposite ends to an arm 33, of the respective bracket 26 extending below the pivot stud 2i, and to the respective supporting bracket 5.

The upper section 8 also carries at its rear a series of pivotally mounted escapement tappets 3I for cooperation with the strikers I8, as hereinafter described.

In Figure 2 the entrance section I is shown in position for co-operating with the lower of the two magazines in operative position, which in the case illustrated are the magazines I and 2. In this position the motion of the striker levers I9 is transmitted by the strikers I8 directly to the escapement plungers ,32 of the lower magazine for releasing matrices from the latter, and the matrices on release are conducted through the guide channels formed by the partitions I5 in the entrance section I into the channels of the fixed section 6 formed by its partitions I0.

Figure 3 illustrates the position of the parts when the assembler section I is adjusted for cooperation with the upper magazine I, wherein it will be observed that the strikers I8 have been moved into a position to transmit the motion of the striker levers I9 to the tappets 3| of the entrance section 8, which in turn serve to transmit the said motion to the escapement plungers 32 of the upper magazine.

In order to close the gap at the front of the entrance section I above the front plate of the entrance section 6, a flapper plate 33 is pivotally mounted on the shaft I2, to which the last-mentioned cover plate is pivoted, and this flapper plate, which is curved to the same radius as the side plates of the entrance section I, is provided with rollers 34 (one at each end) held in contact with the edges of the side plates I4 by springs 35 each anchored to the respective supporting bracket 5. .l

The drawings illustrate as an example one convenient form of mechanism for rapidly effecting the adjustment of the entrance section I between the two operative positions referred to above. According to this arrangement the shaft I3 to which the entrance section I is secured has fixed to it one end of a rearwardly extending arm 36 carrying at its free end a roller 3'1. The said roller engages with a cam groove 38 on the inner face of a cam plate 39 fast on an upstanding arm 40 secured to a short shaft M rotatable in bearings in the respective bracket 5. A spring 42 acting between the arm 36 and the bracket 5 serves to counterbalance the weight of the entrance section 'I, and spring buffer blocks 43, 44, are fitted at each end of the cam groove 38 to prevent shock as. the cam reaches its terminal positions. Rubber buffer stops 45 are provided on each supporting bracket 5 to engage the entrance section 'I as it is brought to rest in the position in which it is shown in Figure 2. For rocking the shaft M in either direction when it is desired to effect an adjustment of the entrance section I, two diametrically opposed arms 46, 41, are secured to the said shaft and connected to any convenient operating mechanism controlled preferably from the keyboard of the machine.

It should be here noted that as more particularly illustrated in Figure 1, the respective partitions 22, I5 and it are arranged to ensure smooth running of the matrices through the channels of the respective sections. For this purpose, the partitions 22 are flared at their lower ends to form a groove or channel 48 for the reception of the upper ends of the partitions I5, and the latter are provided at their lower ends with a feather 49 forming a pocket for the reception of the upper end of the stationary guides or partitions I 8. Moreover, to prevent the lugs of descending matrices striking the backplate 6 or the front plate II of the fixed assembier section a feather 50 is secured tothe upper end of the said backplate, and a feather 5| is secured to the lower end of the front plate I of the entrance section I.

The construction illustrated provides for convenientaccess to the respective parts. The upper entrance section 8 can be unlocked from its operative position by releasing the plunger 29, and when so unlocked, it can be swung forwardly about the studs 21 until brought to rest by the action of the spring 28.

With the upper entrance section in operative position and the adjustable section I in the position in which it is set for operating the escapements of the upper magazine, the strikers I8 carried by the said section 'I may be removed. Further, the flapper plate 33 can be thrown open by releasing the springs 35, and the cover plate II of the fixed entrance section 5 can be opened by turning it on its pivot rod I2 and held open by a plunger pin 52.

In the constructional form of the invention illustrated in Figure 4, the assembler entrance comprises a fixed section 5 which may be of a form similar to that above described, and two adjustable sections 53, 54 supported between said fixed section and the magazine. When the parts are in the full line position in which they are represented in Figure 4, the section 53 is in operative relationship with the upper magazine to deliver matrices therefrom, and the section 54 is inoperative. In this construction escapement strikers I8 and tappets 3I are carried by the backplate 55 of the section 53, which backplate is fast on a rockshaft 56 adapted to be rocked by any convenient device to swing the entrance section 53 to and from the inoperative position in which it is shown in dot-and-dash lines in Figure 4. Simultaneously with the adjustment of the section 53 to the inoperative position, the entrance section 5A, which is carried by a rockshaft 51, is moved into operative relationship with the lower magazine 2 to connect the discharge end of that magazine with the fixed assembler section 6, and also at the same time, escapement actuating pawls 6! are adjusted into operative relationship with the escapement plungers 32 of the lower magazine 2, and such adjustment may be conveniently effected by means of short arms 58 fast to the rockshaft 56, links 59 and levers 66 connected to a slide on which the pawls 6! are pivotally mounted.

The pivoted striker levers Hi in this construction are each provided with two arms 62, 53, on which the lower arm 62 is adapted to actuate the strikers Mi and 63 the pawls 6i. Consequently, in the full line position shown in Figure 4, the motion of the striker levers us is communicated to the plungers 32 of the upper magazine through the strikers w and tappets 3H, whereas when the entrance sections are adjusted to the dot-and-dash line position, the strikers It? are moved out of range of the arms 62 and the pawls (ii are adjusted into operative relationship with the arms 65, the motion of which is therefore transmitted to the plungers 32 of the lower magazine 2.

In the further constructional form illustrated in Figure 5, the adjustable assembler entrance sections are substantially of the same form as those illustrated in Figure 4, but the adjustable escapement actuating pawls for the lower magazine are dispensed with by a modification of the escapement actuating mechanism. The strikers Hi are here actuated to release matrices from the upper magazine I by pivoted levers 64 which in turn are rocked by the actuation of pivoted striker levers 85, which are rocked either clockwise or counterclockwise as viewed in Figure 5, according to the position of adjustable escapement reeds Thus, in the full line position of the escapement reeds represented in Figure 5, the arms (55 of the striker levers are operated to rock the levers 65 counterclockwise, and the levers B4 clockwise to actuate the strikers I8 whereas in the dot-and-dash line position of the escapement reeds the arms 65 of the striker levers 65 are actuated to rock the said levers clockwise for actuating the escapements of the lower magazine 2. The last-mentioned actuation, of course, takes place when the entrance sections are adjusted to the position corresponding to that shown in dot-and-dash lines in Figure 4, and the adjustment of the reeds 20 is effected simultaneously with the! adjustment of the entrance sections by means which in themselves form no part of the present invention.

Having described our invention, we declare that What we claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:-

1. In a typographical composing machine, the combination with a pair of superposed magazines each provided with a set of escapements and having their discharge ends located in an inclined plane, of an assembler entrance including a relatively fixed lower section adapted to receive matrices discharged from either magazine,

a relatively'fixe'd upper section adapted to receive matrices discharged from the upper magazine and a pivoted intermediate section adjustable to convey to the lower section matrices discharged from either magazine, escapement-actuating tappets mounted on said upper section, strikers carried by said intermediate section, and means adapted to adjust said intermediate section on its pivot to bring said strikers into operative relationship either with the escapement mechanism of the lower magazine or with the tappets of the upper entrance section.

2. In a typographical composing machine, the combination with a pair of superposed magazines each provided with a set of escapements and having their discharge ends located in an inclined plane, of an assembler entrance including a relatively fixed lower section adapted to receive matrices discharged from either magazine, a relatively fixed upper section adapted to receive matrices discharged from the upper magazine and an intermediate section adapted to convey to the lower section matrices discharged from either magazine escapement actuating tappets mounted on said upper section, escapement strikers carried by said intermediate section, a rock shaft supporting said intermediate section and a cam operable to rock said shaft to bring said intermediate section and the strikers carried thereby into operative relationship either with the lower magazine and its escapement mechanism or with the upper entrance section and its tappets.

3. In a typographical composing machine, a combination according to claim 1 wherein said upper entrance section is movable to an inoperative position to give access to parts located beneath and behind it.

4. In a typographical composing machine, the combination with a pair of superposed magazines, of an assembler entrance including a relatively fixed lower section adapted to receive matrices discharged from either magazine, a relatively fixed upper section adapted to receive matrices discharged from the upper magazine and a pivoted intermediate section adjustable to convey to the lower section matrices discharged from either magazine, partitions in the respective entrance sections constituting guides for the matrices passing therethrough, feathers at the lower ends of the partitions in the upper and intermediate sections forming grooves for the reception of the upper ends of the partitions in the intermediate and lower sections respectively.

5. In a typographical composing machine, the combination with a pair of superposed magazines, of an assembler entrance including a relatively fixed lower section adapted to receive matrices discharged from either magazine, a relatively fixed upper section adapted to receive matrices discharged from the upper magazine and a pivoted intermediate section adjustable to convey to the lower section matrices discharged from either magazine, cover plates on the upper and lower sections, a fixed front plate on the intermediate section co-operating with said cover plates to close the assembler front when assembling matrices from the upper magazine, a flapper plate supported on a fixed pivot adapted to close the gap between said fixed front plate and the cover plate of the lower section when assembling matrices from the lower magazine.

6. In a typographical composing machine, the combination with a pair of superposed magazines each provided with a set of escapements and 7-5 having their discharge ends located in an inclined plane, of an assembler entrance including a relatively fixed section to receive matrices discharged from either of the magazines and two adjustable sections pivotally supported between said fixed section and the discharge ends of the magazines, said sections being conjointly adjustable about their pivots to bring each such section into and out of operative relationship with a respective magazine, escapement strikers carried by one of said adjustable sections, and means operative to actuate the escapements of one magazine independently of said strikers or the escapements of the other magazine through the said strikers according to the position of adjustment of the said entrance sections.

'7. In a typographical composing machine, the combination with a plurality of superposed inclined magazines each provided with a set of escapements, of an assembler entrance including a relatively fixed section to receive matrices discharged irom one or other of the magazines and at least one pivotally supported section, the latter section being adjustable to different positions to make and break an operative connection between the fixed section and at least one of the magazines, and escapement actuating devices carried in fixed relation by said pivoted section and adjustable therewith to difierent positions to make and break an operative connection with the escapements of the corresponding magazine.

8. In a typographical composing machine, the combination with a plurality of superposed inclined magazines each provided with a set of escapements, of an assembler entrance including a relatively fixed section to receive matrices discharged from one or other of the magazines and at least one pivotally supported section, adjusting means adapted to adjust the latter section to different positions to make and break an operative connection between the fixed section and at least one of the magazines, and escapement actuating devices carried in fixed relation by said pivoted section and adjustable therewith to different positions to make and break an operative connection with the escapements of the corresponding magazine.

9. In a typographical composing machine, the combination with a pair of superposed inclined magazines each provided with a set of escapements, of an assembler entrance including a relatively fixed section to receive matrices discharged from either magazine and a second pivotally supported section adjustable to two different positions to make and break an operative connection between the fixed section and either one of the magazines, and escapement actuating devices carried by said pivoted section and adjustable therewith to two different positions to make and break an operative connection with the escapements of either magazine according to the position of adjustment of the pivoted entrance section.

10. In a typographical composing machine, the combination with a pair of superposed inclined magazines each provided with a set of escapements, of an assembler entrance including a relatively fixed section to receive matrices discharged from either magazine, a relatively fixed upper section adapted to receive matrices discharged from the upper magazine, and a pivoted intermediate section adjustable to convey to the lower fixed section matrices discharged from either magazine, and escapement actuating devices carried by said pivoted intermediate section and adjustable therewith to two different positions to make and break an operative connection with the escapements of either magazine according to the position of adjustment of said pivoted section.

ERIC GAYTER. ARTHUR STANILAND HAYWARD. 

